Prosthetic heart valves fall generally into two categories: mechanical heart valves and bioprosthetic heart valves. Mechanical heart valves are conventionally constructed with a rigid annular body supporting one, two, or more leaflets. The action of these leaflets in opening and closing controls the flow of blood through the valve. The annular body of the heart valve is secured in a sewing ring, a structure which is usually comprised of Dacron (TM) or some other biocompatible material which permits a surgeon to stitch the valve into a location in the heart.
Holding the valve in position while implantation takes place has been and remains a problem for which new solutions are sought. One solution has been a holder for the heart valve which has two opposed substantially mirror-image halves which are joined by a pin or hinge. Adjacent to the heart valve, two jaws operate outwardly to engage the heart valve from the inside. This has been a generally satisfactory configuration in many instances.
Recently, however, mechanical prosthetic heart valves have been developed which have rotatable sewing rings. If a hinged valve holder is used with these valves, the sewing ring is still free to rotate during implantation. This adversely affects implantation.